music review: the GazettE – TRACES VOL.2

 

In this album, we have the band’s best ballad songs compiled here. At first, I thought this was just another cash grab for the band with no changes to the songs whatsoever but I was wrong. Thank goodness.

My first impressions have been pretty decent. Every song here is rerecorded with some added arrangements and lyrics. Also, every song does not fade out except for ITO. Long time fans of the GazettE will appreciate this album because it’s got oldie songs such as Kare Uta, Reila, D.L.N., and Taion. All the songs here are great.

Now for the bad. This could be a hit or miss with the new recorded sound. It sounds very compressed and thick where as the original has a more balanced sound mixing. This may be because I’m used to the way the original sounded but your mileage may vary. While I love the emphasis put into the drums, it sounds artificial here. Come to think of it, this production is quite similar to Dir en grey’s THE UNRAVELING. My favorite GazettE ballad is PLEDGE, and to hear that the song butchered here was quite disappointing. Ruki’s voice no longer has that emotional impact that was in the original. The same result happened when I heard Dir en grey’s rerecorded version of THE FINAL. Guren has these children giggling in the background which is kinda creepy. I really miss the piano standout that was in Reila.

I think of this album as another option or a 2nd chance for those who didn’t like the way the original sounded. Either way, it gave me a good reason to listen to the oldie tracks again. Without a doubt, the new Kare Uta will be on my phone.

Rating: 7/10